200 ROMESH CHANDER DUTT

friendliness with my colleagues in that service, of the fair
and handsome treatment which I received from my seniors,
and of the loyal and zealous cooperation which I received
from my juniors; and I will say this, that— take the Indian
Civil Service with all its faults and all its shortcomings,—
for hard work and honesty of purpose there is not a finer
hody of administrators in the world. Nevertheless, it must
bs admitted, and it is no disrespect to the Indian Civil Ser-
vice to say it, that that service represents only the official
•view of Indian questions, and does not and cannot represent
the people's views. There are two sides to every question,
and it is absolutely necessary for the purpose of good gov-
ernment and of just administration that not only the offi-
cial view but the people's view on every question should be
represented and heard. There are local bodies in different
parts of India which give expression to the people's views on
local questions; but this National Congress is the only body
in India which seeks to represent the views and aspirations
of the people' of India as a whole in all large and important,
and if I may use the word, Imperial questions of administra-
tion. Therefore, this National Congress is doing a service to
the Government the value of which cannot be over-
estimated and which, I feel certain, is appreciated by the
Government itself. It is a gain to the administration to
know what we feel, what we think, and what we desire,—
tfeough our demands cannot always be conceded. It is
a help to responsible administrators to know in what
direction our wishes and our aspirations tend, though
they may not always agree with us. I honestly believe
therefore that you are helping the cause of good adminis-
tration and of good government in India by your delibera-
tions year after year, and I trust and hope that you will
.continue to carry on these deliberations in the future, as